Medicine Hat Minute: Issue 246

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

📅 This Week In Medicine Hat: 📅

• Today, at 3:00 pm, there will be a City Council meeting. As usual, the meeting will begin with a closed session. Away from the public eye, Council will discuss Electric Substations Infrastructure Modernization, a Collective Bargaining Update, the Whistleblower Policy, Sports Wall of Fame Recommendations, an Update on Francosud Land Development, and a Safelink Discussion.
  
  
• When the meeting opens up to the public, at 6:00 pm, Council will discuss a 2026 One-Time Operating Initiative budget amendment of $380,340 to support the Medicine Hat Police Service’s implementation of Body Worn Cameras (BWC) through a Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS). The funding comes from a successful grant from the Alberta Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services, covering costs over three years (2026-2028) associated with accessing the DEMS. This initiative aligns with provincial mandates requiring police services to implement BWCs, aiming to enhance public safety, accountability, and evidence collection. Approval of the budget amendment is necessary because the grant was not included in the City’s previously approved budget. 
  
  
• Medicine Hat’s Corporate Services Committee reviewed the City’s 2025 Supply Chain Annual Report, which outlined procurement, inventory, and accounts payable activities. Last year, the City spent over $164 million on procurement - up from $161 million in 2024 - with more than 97% spent in Canada, including $122 million within Alberta and roughly half of that in the local region. The City also manages over 459,000 inventory items across fleet, utilities, municipal works, and water/sewer operations, spending $8.9 million on products. The City noted increasing challenges, with delivery times for essential products rising from weeks to one or two years, forcing staff to estimate future needs. Rising costs have also reduced inventory quantities while increasing overall inventory value. In 2025, 123 contracts worth $49.9 million were awarded across 32 categories with 63 suppliers, compared to 112 contracts totalling $60.7 million in 2024. The City plans to gather departmental feedback on procurement processes this year.
  
  
• WestJet has announced it will terminate its WestJet Encore service between Calgary and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, effective June 24th. The airline cited insufficient demand as the primary reason for the decision, despite previous efforts to maintain the viability of these regional routes. Impacted travellers with reservations after the deadline are being offered refunds. Councillor Chris Hellam expressed surprise at the announcement, noting that they had recently discussed maintaining air service with the provincial government. The City now intends to seek alternative airlines to fill the service gap before WestJet’s departure in June.
  
  
• Medicine Hat has launched a transit pilot program providing service on select statutory holidays in response to rider requests. Early data from the Family Day launch indicated lower-than-anticipated ridership, which reached only half of a typical Sunday’s volume. City officials attributed the low turnout to communication challenges and a resolved two-hour software glitch that temporarily affected on-demand scheduling. The project, funded through the 2025-26 budget, will next provide service on Canada Day, which was identified as the top priority by transit users in a 2025 survey. To improve engagement, the City plans to increase promotional signage at shelters and on-bus messaging. Data collected from the Family Day and Canada Day sessions will determine the selection of a final pilot date in the fall, choosing between National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, or Boxing Day.

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